Riley Herbst Prevails In Thrilling NASCAR Xfinity Series Finish At Indianapolis
by Hunter Thomas July 21, 2024 1 commentINDIANAPOLIS – Riley Herbst slid by Aric Almirola in the final turn to win the Pennzoil 250 Presented by Advance Auto Parts on Saturday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
On the final lap, Almirola went from third to first, but hot on his trail was Stewart-Haas Racing’s Herbst. The two drivers raced down the backstretch, and when they dove into Turn 3, Herbst was right on Almirola’s bumper. Herbst was able to get alongside of Almirola, and as the two entered the final turn, Herbst’s No. 98 Monster Energy Ford got sideways. The 25-year-old stayed in the throttle to clear Almirola and to capture his first-career Indy victory.
“This is Indianapolis,” Herbst said. “This is the most famous racetrack in the world, and it’s an honor just to walk in this place, let alone win. We’ve had speed all year, and I felt like we could win but I just messed up on the restarts a little bit. It was a good fight. I thought I had Cole (Custer) clear and then he slid the bottom of three with the 20 (Almirola), and I thought it was going to be tough. I just continued to work.
“It has been a pretty tough week on me mentally to be honest with you. I’m proud of these guys and everybody at Stewart-Haas Racing. Obviously the news of us shutting down, these guys could have given up on me, gone to different teams, but they stuck behind me. This is back-to-back wins for Stewart-Haas Racing. Thank you so much Monster Energy. Thank you to everybody in Las Vegas, my family. I’m going to go drink beer and turn my phone off for three weeks.”
Custer, Herbst’s teammate, banged doors with Almirola in the final feet and was able to edge him out to finish second after starting from the pole. At the end of the day, Custer believed that it was actually a disadvantage to be out in front of the field due to the aero advantage that second-place had.
“I mean, you could see us beating doors down the front stretch,” Custer said. “You’re going to do everything it takes to win Indy. I was doing everything I could to get this thing to turn. I needed one less lap. I felt like it was kind of a disadvantage to lead all day. If you were in second you would get your car looser which would save your tires throughout a run. Whereas if you were leading you would just get so tight after 15 laps. What an awesome day for SHR. Two cars at the front all day. We qualified 1-2 and finished 1-2, an unbelievable day for SHR. I hope we keep this rolling.”
As for Almirola, he was there at the end, but he had to settle for a third-place finish after a strong day at Indy. In fact, Almirola spun on Lap 68 and was able to battle back. Almirola felt that when he took the lead away from the Stewart-Haas Racing teammates on the white flag lap, that he’d be able to hold the Fords off; however, Herbst used the aerodynamics to his advantage.
“I thought that was our only chance if we were going to steal one,” Almirola said. “The Stewart-Haas (Racing) cars were the class of the field all weekend. I thought that was my chance to try, when they (Herbst and Custer) got side-by-side and make something happen. I thought it was going to work out. I thought I was going to get clean air and was going to be okay, but Riley’s car was so good, and he got to my left rear and got me tight. It happened earlier in that run. I’d get so tight when he’d get to my left rear. Hats off to those guys, they did a great job.”
Road course expert, Shane Van Gisbergen had a strong effort as he finished fourth. Sheldon Creed finished fifth, followed by Austin Hill, Daniel Dye, AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier and Carson Kvapil.
Herbst won Stage 1, and Ryan Sieg won Stage 2.
There were 12 lead changes among six drivers. Custer led a race high of 47 laps, followed by Herbst who led 30 laps.
The caution flew on seven occasions for 29 laps. The largest crash of the afternoon occurred on Lap 1, when Sam Mayer was sent spinning while battling three-wide in Turn 3. A total of 12 drivers were caught up in the accident.
Custer leads the standings by 56 points over Allgaier.
On Saturday, August 17, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will visit Michigan International Speedway for the Cabo Wabo 250. Live coverage will broadcast on USA at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Photo Credit: Christian Koelle/TheFourthTurn.com
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